Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Asia’ Category

The Cotton Castle

Posted in Architecture, Asia, Hiking, RTW Trip, Travel, Turkey on April 30, 2012| 2 Comments »

Pamukkale literally means “cotton castle” in Turkish. Take a look at this picture and you’ll see why.

These naturally formed travertines are the result of thousands of years’ worth of calcium deposits left behind from mineral water running down the hillside. Once upon a time, Pamukkale may have been considered one of the most magical places on earth. For centuries, local Turks, and eventually tourists too, flocked here to bathe in these incredible pools filled with steaming hot water from the earth below.

How we envisioned Pamukkale….we were wrong. Image: trkaplicas.blogspot.com

Sadly, but not surprisingly, this cotton castle has been nearly loved to death. The overuse and poor preservation of the pools nearly led to their complete destruction. In the last decade, great efforts have been made to restore the travertines to their original state, but it will take many years for the constructive power of nature to complete the work.

Travertines in the early morning light

If it weren’t for the dawn arrival of our overnight bus from Cappadocia, we may have been greatly disappointed. All of the travel agencies around Turkey show you pictures of the “old” Pamukkale and conveniently forget to mention that all but a few pools are now closed for restoration. Luckily for us, we were granted entrance to the park at quarter ‘til 7 before most of the staff had even arrived. We were the first visitors in the gate and had the place completely to ourselves, except for a few stray dogs that followed in our footsteps. We began to explore some fantastic pools as we climbed our way up the travertines.

Our canine friends

Then, when we had nearly reached the top, we heard someone honking a horn and blowing a whistle.  We looked up to see a very displeased security guard waiving us off the hill. Turns out that the area we were climbing in was off limits. They normally have a guard stationed at the bottom instructing you not to climb, but we had arrived so early that he hadn’t reached his post yet. Whoops!

Mike on a quest to find the hottest pool.

Almost to the top, just before we got busted.

After making our way back to the bottom, we followed a narrow path along some man-made pools. The view of the mountains across the valley was spectacular, but the pools themselves were frankly nothing special. At the end of the trail, however, we ran into another spectacular sight: the ruins of ancient Hierapolis. During Roman times, people found the hot springs of Pamukkale to be so fantastic that it inspired the settlement of Hierapolis, which sits just above the travertine pools where the water springs to the surface.

Smoking hot travertines

We spent the remainder of our day hiking around and exploring the ruins of what must have been an enormous and wondrous city. The remnants of Hierapolis spread across a great deal of land and contained some very well restored buildings and monuments. Some of our favorite ruins are pictured below. Pamukkale is best known for the travertines, but for us Hierapolis was the highlight.

The Martyrium of St. Philip

The Theater

Main road leading into Hierapolis

All in all, our morning of accidental trespassing and archeological exploration was a great time. While we would not recommend going out of your way to visit Pamukkale (that is, until the restoration work is complete), if you happen to be traveling between Cappadocia and Ephesus, it is certainly worth stopping for half of a day.

Read Full Post »

Continent Jump #1: Europe to Asia

Posted in Asia, Europe, RTW Trip, Travel on April 25, 2012| 6 Comments »

It took some discussion to figure out the best way to convey our thoughts on our transition from Europe to Asia. Technically speaking, we first visited Asia last week while in Istanbul; the city of is divided between two continents by the Bosphorus River, and we took a short ferry ride across one afternoon. That being said, our flight from Turkey to China will be the longest distance we have flown yet. For us it symbolizes a major shift for The Chamborres Expedition; so we decided that now is the best time to share our thoughts. We intentionally scheduled this post to publish during our trans-continental flight to China, so we are literally in the air as you read this!

An updated map of our route so far. Click here to check out more details.

For those of you who are visiting our blog for the first time, we just wrapped up the first “segment” of our RTW trip. In the last 13 weeks we have been to 10 countries and before diving into the next part of our expedition, we wanted to take a moment to step back and reflect on the past three months, including some of our favorites (as well as the least liked moments) along the way.

Traveling with our trusty packs

The first few weeks of our trip were surreal and filled with a sense of elation. The phrase “can you believe we’re finally on the road?!” was nearly a daily occurrence. You could call it the honeymoon phase.

As time went on and we became more comfortable in our roles as permanent travelers, we began to see Europe in a clearer lens. We realized that the continent is not as cohesive as it appears on the surface. Since arriving in Europe via Barcelona on January 16th, we have traveled in and out of the EU, while hearing numerous languages, exchanging many different currencies, and learning about the extremely diverse history and culture of this incredible continent. We have found that Europe is often labeled as “not that different than home” by Americans, Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis. Yes, English is widely spoken, and yes, the food and culture are not as seemingly exotic as in other continents; however, anyone who takes the time to get to know Europe will realize that there are many lessons to be learned here.

Countless times during our trip we have said “This country is amazing. We could spend a whole year here and still not see everything.” That’s the truth. When you scratch the surface of something great, you naturally want to dig deeper, but eventually we found ourselves yearning for more excitement, seeking that thrill that we had when we stepped on the plane for Spain. We realized that we were frequently talking about how stoked we were to get to Asia: to step further outside of our comfort zone; to be forced to play charades at every corner because people don’t speak English; to eat something so deliciously mouthwatering only to realize it’s dog meat; to bike through the insane streets of Bangkok. We may take back these wishes once we get to China, but this is what we have been yearning for in the past few weeks.

Our last full day in Turkey was spent similarly to our last days in Denver before the beginning of our trip: running errands, organizing, and mentally preparing for a big change. We wanted to make sure our laundry was clean, our medicine cabinet was well stocked, that our confirmation emails were printed out, and that we had backup copies of our passports and visas tucked away in our packs. Putting our time in central Turkey aside, landing in China will be for both of us a first time in Asia. We are a bit anxious and a lot excited.

In our post One Month ‘til Departure, we each listed the things we were most looking forward to during our RTW trip. For Amy, one of those things was Asia, and it still tops the list. She had mentioned an eyelash curler as a luxury item she couldn’t go with out, but has since stopped using it and make-up all together. Mike was excited for the pork in Spain (mission accomplished!) and also to explore Istanbul (check that one off too). Up and coming on his list are relaxing on the beaches of SE Asia and seeing the Great Wall of China. Lots of firsts await us in Asia, and we are excited to share them with you. Accessing our blog in China may prove to be a challenge, but either way we promise some great posts about Istanbul and Ephesus in the near future.

To wrap up this post, we thought a run-down of some of the bests and worsts from our visit to Europe, Morocco and Turkey would be a fun read. We are often asked questions like “what has been your favorite thing so far?” and while that is an impossible question, we can definitely narrow down some very memorable moments:

  • Best Food – Lamb and couscous tagines in Morocco (Amy), Jamón ibérico de pata negra in Spain (Mike).
  • Best Hosts – The Frederiksens who housed us, fed us and toured us around Denmark for a week.
  • Best Beach Town – The friendly people, cobbled streets and incredible cliffs of  Lagos, Portugal.
  • Best Tour – Port wine tasting in Porto, Portugal.
  • Best Train Ride – The journey from Mostar to Sarajevo. Not necessarily the best train itself, but definitely the most beautiful scenery.
  • Best Hostel – Atillas Getaway Traveler’s Resort in Selçuk, Turkey (go here if you are visiting Ephesus!)
  • Worst Hostel – Hostel from hell in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
  • Worst 1st Impression – Marrakesh, Morocco. What a crazy first 24 hours!
  • Worst Week – Stuck with the flu České Budějovice, Czech Republic.

Read Full Post »

Do It Yourself Cappadocia: A 4-Day Budget Itinerary

Posted in Asia, Hiking, Lodging, Museums, RTW Trip, Travel, Turkey on April 23, 2012| 19 Comments »

From the early days of planning our RTW trip, we knew that we wanted to visit Istanbul, however we didn’t know much about other destinations in Turkey. After reading an article in the New York Times, we became very interested in a region called Cappadocia.

Spring blooms in Cappadocia

While we were able to find tons of info on organized tours of Cappadocia, there was not much out there for the independent traveler. What we could find about exploring on your own suggested that the only feasible option was to rent a car. Tours are not our style, and renting a car was out of our budget; what were we to do? We caught a break when Amy’s mom sent us a link to a fantastic blog named Captivating Cappadocia. We contacted the author, and he kindly provided useful suggestions about a car-less approach to Cappadocia. Thanks Duke! Based on his advice, we decided to stay in Göreme, which proved the perfect home base for exploring the region.

Since we found it a bit difficult to plan our trip within a short time frame and on a budget, we have outlined our 4-day itinerary below so that other backpackers may use it as a reference. Keep in mind that this is one of a million different possibilities, and nearly everything can be planned after you arrive, so don’t worry!

Taking in the spectacular view from the Göreme Panorama

Before You Leave

Lodging: Do some research online before you leave and narrow it down to 2-3 places that fit your needs. Then negotiate via email for the best deal. We found that many hotels are willing to lower their rates in exchange for cash payment or multiple night stays. Also, we suggest staying in a “cave hotel” because it is fun and unique to Cappadocia; although more expensive than a hostel, it is still doable on a budget.

Our cave room!

Bus ticket: While a bus is not the fastest method of transportation, overnight buses are the most affordable way to get from Istanbul to Cappadocia. A ticket runs about 50-60TL and may be purchased from almost every travel agency in Istanbul. You should try to reserve a few days in advance as buses often fill up.

Day 1

Most overnight buses arrive in Göreme between 7:00-10:00am. Go drop off your stuff, grab a quick breakfast, and head straight to the Göreme Open Air Museum. It’s a short 1km walk from the town center and will quickly have you enchanted by the ancient cave dwellings and well-preserved rock churches.

The Göreme Open Air Museum is an ancient Christian city that consists of multiple churches, chapels and cave dwellings.

Amazingly well-preserved frescos in the Elmalı (Apple) Church

The Chapel of St. Barbara – a columned rock church

After exploring the museum, head back into town for lunch (there are tons of delicious and affordable places to choose from). Then, hike north to Çavusin. Here you will find dwellings that have been carved into the cliffs which are open to explore on your own for free.

We could have spent all afternoon exploring the caves of Çavusin.

On your way back to Göreme, detour off of the main road through Love Valley. The rock formations in this valley were some of our absolute favorites!

Pyramid-shaped fairy chimneys in Love Valley

“Fill-in-the-blank”-shaped fairy chimneys in Love Valley

As you come to the end of the Love Valley, you will arrive at the Göreme Panorama where you can catch great 360 views of the surrounding area.

Göreme Panorama – we cannot imagine what people back in the day thought when they first arrived to this incredible place.

Finish your day of hiking with a short trek back to Göreme through the fairy chimneys which sit just below the panorama.

Mike exploring one of the many fairy chimneys near Göreme

Based on this itinerary, we estimate that your legs will do about 13km of walking. So wear good shoes, and bring plenty of water. If that distance seems a bit too intense, there are plenty of bicycles, ATVs and motorbikes for rent in the area.

Day 2

Eat a big breakfast and pack some snacks before setting off on another day of hiking. This time in the Rose and Red valleys, which sit to the north-east of Göreme. Here you will find spectacularly colored rocks, high cliffs walls, and of course, more dwellings and churches carved into the tufta stone.

Pigeon coops carved into the rock cliffs of the Rose Valley

If the snacks you brought along aren’t enough, you will undoubtedly stumble upon some small outdoor cafes set up along the trail by entrepreneurial Turks.

Beautiful place for a cafe, huh?

After hiking, return to Göreme for a late lunch; then, rest with a nap in your cave hotel. When you feel rejuvenated, head to the mini-market and grab some beer or wine to enjoy while scoping the view from Sunset Hill. This viewpoint is located just a few minutes from the center of town and offers fantastic views of Göreme and the nearby valleys.

Day 3

Spend your morning exploring one of the many underground cities of Cappadocia. We suggest the town of Kaymaklı. To get there, take the bus to Nevşehir, which departs every half hour from the Göreme bus station. After arriving in Nevşehir, hop on a dolmus (mini-bus) direct to Kaymaklı. There are tour guides available, but we suggest just reading about the city before you visit and navigating the tunnels on your own. You’ll be able to explore at your own pace this way. Don’t worry, you won’t get lost and stuck inside like the Turkish guides may claim after you decline their services.

Mike ducking through a tiny passageway.

Bring a headlamp and/or flashlight with you – it will allow you to navigate through the ultra-secret parts of the underground city!

Those with claustrophobia or breathing conditions should be advised that the underground city contains many small passage ways and is quite dusty.

Visiting Kaymaklı should only take a half-day. After lunch you have more time for…you guessed it, more hiking! The Pigeon valley hike is about 4km and runs between Göreme and the nearby town of Uçhisar. It is a great way to spend the afternoon after being confined to the small spaces of the underground city.

The mushroom top cliffs of the Pigeon Valley

Day 4

After three days of hiking, we felt deserving of some relaxation. Sleep in and have a late breakfast. Most hotels will allow you to store your luggage while you enjoy your last day in Göreme. We suggest spending some time at a tea house and chatting with the owner or planning your next travel move, and then ending your visit with one final hike through the Zemi Valley.

More interestingly shaped fairy chimneys

Taking one last hike in Cappadocia through the Zemi Valley

If you are too beat to even think about hiking, there is a Hamam (Turkish bath) located right by the bus station where you can enjoy a spa day before taking another night bus out of Göreme.

This 4-day budget itinerary is definitely centered on hiking the valleys because we love hiking, hiking is free, and hiking is the best way to appreciate the natural beauty of Cappadocia. However, if your budget is a bit more flexible, the same basic plan could be modified to include an all-day tour (90-140TL) and/or hot-air balloon ride (300-450TL). Both activities come highly recommended by many people in the area. The good news is that pretty much whatever you do in Cappadocia, you are sure to have a good time.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts